The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1887-01-13

fOil0WlDg IL by an earnest ana lOucilll
prayer, In which he feelingly alluded to tt
life and example of the eminent dea'
pointing the stricken ones to the sourt
of all comfort in their trial. BetWee
the reading and the prayer the choir san
'.Servant of God, well done, and afte
the prayer, Asleep in Jesus
The venerable bishop then delivered th
sermon in deeply impressive and solem
manner. His text was from the Esd vers
Of the 2lst chapter Of Revelations, ''Fc
there is no night there He said;
John Jacob Giossbrenner was born in the stat
of Mary land July 24th, 1878, and died at his hon
in Churehville, Va, on the morning of Januar
18th, 1887, aged 10 years, months aud IL days.
He was licensed to preach Ia 1871, and ordaine
by Bishop Henry Kumler, ST., in 1883. He-sery
ed as pastor ana Presiding Elder Il years. Il
1915 he was elected to tho Office OF Bishop, an
reelected nine times, thus serving N tn
church OF his early choice as one Of its ouperin
PENDANTS, Tor forty consecutive years.
He was the youngest man ever elected to ina
election only 81 years OF age. This SHOWS tn
confidence the fathers had ia the ptety. integfi
w ana lnJelig of the young man, In lsed
able for active service, Sucn AZ he had given X
the church for many long years, he was almos
unanimously elected BlSlOp Emeritus, Ill Which
relation he closed his long and useful life. Hi,
brethren felt that one who had served The
church SO long and faithfully, should die in the
office. When this honorary title was conferred
'upon him. more than a hundred OF the delegates
Cd rae forward TO grasp his hand. IL was 10 hin
and others an ASS III the pilgrimage OF lite.-
No man i'll the United Brethren Church has eyel
served in the Office of Bishop as many years az
he did, and it is doubtful II any other man will
ever serve as long. Forty years OF unreTnittiIg
toll in the Episcopal Office is long time. His
name VIII go down to history as Ole of the pui-
est and best men of his Time. and his example as
a Christian and Christian Minister Will never
nerish. scores and hundreds OF ministers when
Pibo,, learn Of his death, Will remember that Ills
~. is signed TO their credentials. renlena-
her len almost 40 years ago, That hand. now
~, ~ DEATH was laid upon my head, in the sol.
an :, sa,.vice ofOrdinaLion. Often during these
N vesTs has he sieptin my house, ate at my ta-
AZ M ~, bfeeled with and mine at the alual
~ ,ra1er Who, that ever heard him pray at
~ 81 II altar can forget how lovingly ana ten
sssl']v he Committed the care of the Iaaly into
~, . Il Sa M Of his Father In Heaven.
i;he early advantages of Bishop Gl0ssbrennet
we're 1ot s,,ch as falls to the LOT OF many youna
men Of this day. Pressed into service when on,
Iy boy, he could MOI avail himself OF the ad-
TO yoIpllr men now. But possessing q strono
body and vigorous mind, he was able. by divine
grace, to dig his way up through solid rock. He
was NOT a classical scholar, but a man of books
With a very retentive lne1nory and pene trains
mind, he was enabled to gatnera vast store ct
The powerof concentration which
is the master wheel in the minds of the most
scholarly men, was strongly DEVELOPED in bis
mind. How he acquired this wonderful mower
we may ever know. PRESIDENT Lincoln, whose
force seemed to be in his po wers of concentra
ton, was asked how he acquired it: his answer
was, by studying one Notwithstanding If M "
self-probably some book in highter mathemat-
les.
the incidents in the life and labors of such .
man as Bishop Glossbrenner are too numerous
10 be even mentioned on an occasion like this
/ shall name but few First, | wish to sneak
OF his Christian character Those who Knew
him BEST VIII doubtless readily join with me in
saying that he was good man, full of the HOLY
GhoSt ana faith. His Whole life was a living
eplstle, read and known of those with whom he
associated in life Calm, dignified kind and
yet fllnl IN what he believed to be right. I
would not be understood as saying that in eve
~ respect he was perfect, but after an in timate
acquaintance with him for many years, can
say nus NE came as near filing my ideal of d
perfect christian as any man with whom it has
been nay privilege to associate. In an these
years 90 not remember of ever having seen
him 1rfltated. Always kind, firm as rock but
tender as child. l have seen him at times
when the storms were heavy and threatening.
but in the midst of IT all he was able 10 possess
his soul in patience. / remember when tine
storm beat heavily upon our little bark; when
strong men trembled at what seemed to be i'm
minent danger, he stood at the helm and faced
the storm until the harbor was reached, When
the danger was passed and the sun shone out
from behind the clouds. his great strong heart
melted Ike wax before the fire, and he wept
like child. refer to the General Conference
Of 1857, when the QepFayity question SO agitated
The church, and the question was finally set
lied. He was q Christian in the storm and q
Christian in the calm. He was Christian at
home and in the social circle.
AS q preacher there were but few that excell-
ed MIN. he had a rich. musical voice and q
warm, tender heart. He was emphaticaliy q
gospel preacher. He used but few Illustrations.
nis method was to state his points of doctrine
plainly, ana then sustain them by the word of
God. have heard him again and again, when
1t seemed that the Holy Spirit would bring ia
his mind one passage after another, until he
ion mo ~,
power could denolish. He was very careful in.
his quotations, SO that II was the merest chance
have heard him more than once when he would
hold his audience spell bound for more than an
hour. I9ere were times when he grew eo-
eloqueut-but he did not
seem to knowtt. His language was plain and
simple. but very correct. Once during The
war, he preached a sermon somewhere III the
der was present, who said that he had often
thought that he would like to have heard az
Paul preach, but he was now satisfied, for be
had heard o man that came mp I'd his ideal al
ST. Paul None that ever heard bishop Gloss
brenner preach, ever had any occasion 10 think
that he WIS triiilng With the word OF God. he
heard him often wondered how he bore up SO
well under such strain: yet, for more than a
manner. lIe preached what he believed and
what he preached, Salvation by
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ was his great
the law; he sought to win men to Christ Nv
proclaiming the love of God rather than arous.
ing them by reference to the Judgment of God.
Not that he sought to shun the terrors of the
law, but such were his views of the love and
goodness of God, that it absorbed his whole
soul. ssss
After having preached salvation By faith in
Jesus for more than fifty years, and when near
ing the valley of the shadow of death he said
70 bfother lJodgs, who had come to visit him,
that ne would be glad to recover so far as to be
able to preach one more sermon. II Would,u
said he, take for my text the words of Christ
10 his declples that night on the sea: sit is I,
be not 9frald.'o What 81 lesson to ministers
now IN the field, and especially to young men.
Here is man that for more than a half centu-
ry preached Christ and Him crucified and yet,
as the shadows of death were falling around
him, he felt that he would love to preach one
more sermon on bh at great theme. Essays on
speculative questions will do to please and en-
terrain an audience for while, but when the
verge of the rivers reached and eternity dawns
then nothing viii satisfy but Jesus. Robert
Newton, when dying, said, sChrist Jesus, the
Saviour OF sinners aud life of the dead will
liam otterbein said, "Iesns, les1s, die; til Gu
livest,"
1t was not all sunshine with Bishop Gloss
brennef. There were times when the storm
beat heavily against him. He wasa man OF
strong convictions, and what he believed to be
right he would contend for with earnestness.-
remember on two occasions when efforts wei e
made to dispiace him; he knew all about it and
why II was done but in the midst of 1.-THE was
and did not allow himself to speak
unAlndiy OF those who sought to displace hints
More than once during those years he said to
his brethren, and all would be we'll, SO far as
we can know on the human side, Bishop Gloss
premier passed from the society OF mortas
without any just cause against him for uttering
unkind Or disparaging words concernipg those
who differed with him. If others spoke I'M
kindly OF him or in any way sought to injure
him, he is now beyond their reach. I envy his
condition rather than theirs.
Ii Blshop tlosshfenner we're here he WGula
not wish meto say that he never made any ms
takes. But now that he is gone. I wish to say
for him that W hatever mistakes lie made they
shoula meyer De charged against his heart, for
am sure 3a' ne meyer Intentionally did wrong. 7
tent on pleasing the Master than he.
gBlshop u lossbfenner ,eltered the ministry of
the United Brethren Church when her MEM
bership did not exceed twenty-five thousand
He Travelled for the most part on horseback. A
that day there We're no railroads and ministers
generally travelled as he did Even when he
was elected to the Office Of Bishop forty-two
years ago. lie had to traxer laosely by ptivaDe
conveyance. sometimesit would require from
two to three weeks togo from one Conference
to another. But no matter how far it was nor
how difficult the journey, he would perform It
without murmurIng or eonlplaipingI and aftef
he was sixty years of age, his turn came
to visit the Conference on the Picific coast al
though it involved ride of twelve hundred
miles by stage, oyer mountains that would try
murlnur or complaint.
No difficulty seemed too great for him to face
when duty called him to go. Many a long, drea-
ry night he rode over rugged mountains on the
Pacific slope, while young men slept quietly at
their homes. WAen he entered the ministry
in this church we had 70 EoIle Frontier or
Foreign Missionary Society. no institutions of
learning, no Sabbath School Associations, no
Sabbath School literature, no well organized
itlneraey, no books written by men of our own
church. and no constitutions. He grew up with
the growth of the church, and was always to be
found In the front rank OF every advance made
by the church, Older and indeed younger men
thar himself would sometimes hesitate when
these adyancements were proposed; but Bishop
Glossbrenner was always ready for everything
that would lend potency to the church q loved
SO we'll. If he erred along any of these limos il